Upscaling and Downscaling

[ZenMonkey]

My XBox One S upscales 1080p games to 4k, supposedly, but I don't notice it. Geforce Experience recommends I render a game in 4k and then downscale it to my 1080p monitor. I feel like that would be a waste of resources and add no real value.

 

Are upscaling and downscaling really worth it?

[Sakkura]

Upscaling doesn't change picture quality, it's just a necessity to display a lower res image on a higher res screen. The alternative would be to have huge black bars along the side of the screen, so obviously upscaling is worth it in that sense.

 

Downscaling is very different, and usually not relevant to consoles. It's rendering at a higher res than the screen and then making that fit. It improves the image quality because it acts like SSAA. Downscaling/SSAA is the least efficient type of AA - it does look the best, but it has an EXTREME performance impact. So it's usually not worth it, unless the game is very easy for your computer to run.

[Rezalis]

Do not render a game in 4k and downscale to 1080p. That is just wasted pixels. Render in 1080p if your gpu can, and send it to your 1080p monitor. I cannot think of time when you would need to downscale ever. Upscale only if you want to see the picture full screen and you cannot push that many pixels. For example, you have a gtx 680 and can't run GTA V on high 1080p. Set the resolution to 720p and fullscreen and you will see the game upscaled to 1080p filling your screen.

[Glenwing]

1 hour ago, Rezalis said:

Do not render a game in 4k and downscale to 1080p. That is just wasted pixels.

You do realize that's how anti-aliasing works behind the scenes, right?

 

1 hour ago, Sakkura said:

Upscaling doesn't change picture quality, it's just a necessity to display a lower res image on a higher res screen.

It does decrease image quality in most cases, although it's not as big a deal as people make it out to be.

[Rezalis]

1 hour ago, Glenwing said:

You do realize that's how anti-aliasing works behind the scenes, right?

 

It does decrease image quality in most cases, although it's not as big a deal as people make it out to be.

That's interesting, I just read an article on it and I did not know that is how it works. I just knew that it makes your edges smoother. Thanks!